Press
They had gathered to pray together. But the religious event of a guru in northern India ended in a mass panic – the victims were mainly women and children.
New Delhi – At least 107 people, mainly women and children, have died in northern India in a stampede following a religious event, according to the regional administration. Thousands of people had gathered for prayers and a sermon. The gathering was organized by a local guru in a tent near a road in the Hathras district in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Some people fainted due to the high humidity, said Chaitra V of the regional administration of Uttar Pradesh. When people tried to get out of the tent quickly, some of them fell – which led to the mass panic. “The death toll is now 107, 18 injured are being treated in hospitals,” she said. Most of the fatalities were suffocated or trampled.
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh reportedly set up a committee of senior police and administrative officials to investigate the incident. The police have registered a complaint and are now looking for Guru Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba. His assistant told the television channel India Today that permission had been obtained for the meeting, but more people came than expected.
Lack of security measures?
Only 40 police officers were deployed at the venue and no security measures were taken for large gatherings, India Today reported. Among other things, there were no clear demarcations between entrances and exits.
“We tried to leave after Baba left, but there was a muddy ditch and some people slipped. Others walked over them and more people fell. My neighbor’s little daughter died,” a woman told the station in tears. She had reportedly arrived on a bus full of people from a neighboring town.
Accidents at religious events are not uncommon in India, as large crowds often gather in a confined space, on narrow paths or bridges. In 2013, more than 100 people were killed in a mass panic at a religious festival in Madhya Pradesh. dpa
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